The Fiery Crown (Forgotten Empires, #2)

by Jeffe Kennedy

Gabrielle Baker (Narrator)

Following The Orchid Throne, Conri and Lia's marriage of convenience has turned into an uneasy alliance. If only the two leaders could agree on something. Driven by revenge, Conri wants to attack Emperor Anure before the tyrant gets to them first. But Lia needs to keep Calanthe safe, and refuses to sacrifice her kingdom. Their ongoing battle for control has built up tension they're both more than happy to release in bed, the only place where they find common ground. But Conri and Lia are developing deeper feelings for each other that are complicating matters. In the second book in the Forgotten Empires trilogy, Conri and Lia find their loyalties torn, and with Emperor Anure's threat growing, will they be able to risk everything with each other before it's too late?

• ISBN10: 1977369413
• ISBN13: 9781977369413
• Publish Date: 30 June 2020 (first published 1 June 2020)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 19 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tantor Media, Inc
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 14 hours and 11 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[Melanie]

Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.

This is the second book in the Forgotten Empires series by Jeffe Kennedy. I had a really great time with the first book, The Orchid Throne, and this one picks up where that one leaves off. Lia and Conri are married and they are working together to meet their goals.

Euthalia, “Lia”, the Queen of Calanthe wants to keep her people safe, at all costs. She was raised to put her land and people above herself. Her only care is to keep them safe from the Emperor Anure, who is a “false emperor”. He has conquered the lands and tortured and killed people who didn’t follow them. Lia was betrothed to him, but saw a partner, at least in her goals, in Con.

Conri, the former Crown Prince of Oriel, and escaped prisoner of the Vurgmun, and also known as the Slave King. Con only wants vengeance. He wants Anure dead. He’s willing to do anything, including forfeit his own life to make this happen. The prophecy said he needs to “claim the hand that wears the ring and the empire falls” and Lia wears the ring, so he marries her to get to his goal.

While they have different agendas, they both need the same thing, Anure dead. But will they betray the other if it is needed to kill Anure. While they didn’t marry for love, there is an attraction to them and they are growing closer together. In this book, they come even closer.

We also learn a lot more about Lia’s nature, the nature of Calanthe and that there are a lot of secrets. We also find out there are some things that we thought we knew, but really didn’t. Lia also has to come to terms with some things she doesn’t want to believe (trying to avoid a book one spoiler here).

I had such a great time with this story. My earbuds were glued to my ears. I loved watching Con and Lia come closer together to truly become partners. I liked seeing the secondary characters really show their loyalty to their friends and common goal.

The ending of this story was truly remarkable. While it wasn’t a cliffhanger, it does leave you wanting more. I am eagerly waiting for the third, and what I expect to be, the final book in this trilogy. It can’t get here fast enough. *waits somewhat patiently*

Narration (4.5 stars)

Gabrielle Baker does a great job with the narration of this book. When I listened to the first book, I commented that I had difficulty telling when the narrator would go from Con’s POV to Lia’s. That was not an issue at all with this book. I really liked this narrator much better. It made for a much better listen. I continued to enjoy the voices of each character and she really brought out the feelings of each scene. I had a really great time listening to her bring this story to life.

[stacey_is_sassy]

Revenge can distract you from what is really important…

The length of time it took me to read this story is not a reflection of how much I enjoyed it. I’m sorry to say but sitting down and reading has become a bit of a chore. Living in a house with two active boys that have had all their sports put on hold, is not easy. Suddenly, they want to chat, they want to play cards, they want my attention. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thoroughly enjoying having my 16 and 13-year-old boys’ attention, but it is seriously messing with my reading time.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Fiery Crown and revisiting Calanthe and seeing Conri, Lia, Ambrose, Sondra, and Kara. I will admit to having times when I wanted to reach in and shake a few of the characters. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I’m reading, I start to doubt things can ever recover or be right again. Then, I get to the end and shake my head at myself. Of course, a trusted author will not let me down. Of course, they had everything under control. Of course, it was always just a part of the author's dastardly plans to mess with my emotions.

In this instalment, we get to know Conri and Lia more and see their feelings for each other develop and grow. There are times when they doubt their feelings for each other. Conri is still determined to end Anure at ANY cost. Lia is still determined to protect Calanthe at ANY cost. What these two numbskulls didn’t plan is that their feelings for each other would mess with that dedication.

The relationships throughout the story are interesting. Lia is realising that it is hard to trust anyone. The one person she thought she could always trust, abandons her. Conri realises that he cannot put his friendships ahead of his wife. Both come to realise too late that they really must be each other’s confidant, friend, and lover.

If I could find one fault, it would be that the action took too long to get to. I needed a bit of excitement earlier on to get me heated up for the climactic ending. Talk about climactic ending…at times it was a little gruesome, but it had my heart pumping. I’m now determined to see Anure and his four henchmen DEAD! I’m not normally a violent person but they need to…D I E!!

I will definitely be back for more in the Forgotten Empires series. Jeffe Kennedy has captured and held my attention with this war with Anure. I want Lia and Conri to win and I want them to find happiness with their families close by.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.